FR: le temps d'attente

[shamy4]

Hi guys

How are you doing?

I'm studying french at a university in Barcelona and our teacher wants us to fill the gaps in some sentences by putting the corresponding preposition. Then we also have to explain why we applied that particular preposition.

I'm having problems with the following sentence:

Le temps d’attente est long. Deux personnes sont avant moi.

I know that "de" is correct in this case, but I just can't explain why. Does it have something to do with the difference between "mur en brique" and "mur de brique"?

I'd appreciate if you could help me with this, because after having asked 6 native french speakers and googled for hours you're my last chance

Thanks in advance.

shamy

 

[Oddmania]

Hi,

Well, I'd say it has just something to do with the phrase Le temps de faire quelque chose.

Je n'ai pas le temps d'attendre...
etc...

I can't think of anything else!

 

[timboleicester]

Hi guys

How are you doing?

I'm studying French at a university in Barcelona and our teacher wants us to fill the gaps in some sentences by putting the corresponding preposition. Then we also have to explain why we applied that particular preposition.

I'm having problems with the following sentence:

Le temps d’attente est long. Deux personnes sont avant moi.

I know that "de" is correct in this case, but I just can't explain why. Does it have something to do with the difference between "mur en brique" and "mur de brique"?

I'd appreciate if you could help me with this, because after having asked 6 native french speakers and googled for hours you're my last chance

Thanks in advance.

shamy

Yes I agree that asking natives is of little use sometimes, believe me I live with one and you might as well ask the cat sometimes.

There are lots of times when there is no apparent reason for the use of de or du etc. c.f le vent du nord/le vent d'est. There are so many exceptions to so called rules that you could, and people do, write books about it. As to your particular point I would hasard the following by way of an explanation.

Le temps d'attente is used beacuse the waiting is of a general nature and not referring to any particular "waiting" and like salle d'attente has reached the status of a noun in its own right. But this is becasue I am completely lost!

You might like to do a google search for "temps de l'attente" because there are millions of usages of this form too. I think the difference would be in English "waiting time" for your turn for example and "time of waiting" for a particular event ie in a religious context waiting for time to pass before remarriage etc.